Total alkalinity is a pivotal water quality parameter dictating the response of natural waters to acid–base system perturbations such as ocean acidification and acid mine drainage. Its value as a biogeochemical and ecological variable is enhanced not just by high measurement quality, but also by measurement accessibility. This research demonstrates an instrument that advances the accessibility of high-precision, high-accuracy total alkalinity measurement using open-source, and low-cost instrumentation. Repeated testing of water samples from Lake Superior demonstrated a measurement precision (standard deviation or SD) of 3.0 μmol kg⁻¹. Analysis of standards and reference materials demonstrated an uncertainty of 5.3 μmol kg⁻¹ as well as robustness to freshwater and saltwater matrices. This instrument adds to the wealth of inorganic carbon measurement technologies in marine and lacustrine settings and stands to enhance the ability of both communities to generate accurate and accessible measurements of total alkalinity.

中文翻译：

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使用开源平台测量总碱度

总碱度是一个关键的水质参数，决定了天然水体对酸碱系统扰动（如海洋酸化和酸性矿山排水）的反应。它作为生物地球化学和生态变量的价值不仅通过高测量质量得到提高，而且通过测量可及性得到提高。这项研究展示了一种仪器，它使用开源和低成本仪器提高了高精度、高精度总碱度测量的可及性。对取自苏必利尔湖的水样进行重复测试表明测量精度（标准偏差或 SD）为 3.0  μ mol kg ^-1。标准品和参考材料的分析表明不确定性为 5.3  μ mol kg ⁻¹以及对淡水和盐水基质的稳健性。该仪器增加了海洋和湖泊环境中无机碳测量技术的财富，并有望提高这两个社区生成准确且易于获得的总碱度测量值的能力。